New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 117,397 Shares of Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Antero Resources Co. (NYSE:AR - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 497,351 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock after selling 117,397 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.17% of Antero Resources worth $11,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AR. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Antero Resources by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. CWM LLC grew its position in Antero Resources by 33.9% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the oil and natural gas company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Payden & Rygel Investment Group bought a new stake in Antero Resources in the third quarter worth approximately $99,000. 83.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Antero Resources Price Performance

Shares of AR stock traded down $1.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,115,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,988,755. Antero Resources Co. has a 1-year low of $19.91 and a 1-year high of $34.69. The company has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 163.30 and a beta of 3.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm's 50-day moving average is $28.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.55.

Antero Resources (NYSE:AR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The oil and natural gas company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.04. Antero Resources had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 0.18%. The company had revenue of $1.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.17 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Antero Resources Co. will post 0.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total value of $5,412,474.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,793,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 232,293 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.85, for a total value of $6,004,774.05. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,000,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,550,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director W Howard Keenan, Jr. sold 206,978 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.15, for a total transaction of $5,412,474.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,793,022 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,187,525.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 467,280 shares of company stock worth $12,153,605. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AR. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Antero Resources in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Antero Resources to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $35.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Antero Resources from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.08.

Antero Resources Company Profile

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil properties in the United States. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Development; Marketing; and Equity Method Investment in Antero Midstream.